Saudi govt clamps down on foreign workers, to sack all of them by 2020

There's bad news for all foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. As part of the government's initiative to increase job opportunities for natives, it has directed its ministers to remove all foreign workers by 2020. The national transformation programme initiative targetted for 2020 is likely to see all government positions filled by Saudis and a significantly reduced public sector. 

The government also told the ministers that only Saudi nationals will be allowed to work in the government departments by 2020. There was, however, no clarification as to whether the clamping was done only in government-owned oil giant Aramco or also in the public schools and hospitals. 

Abdullah al-Melfi, deputy minister for civil service, in an instruction issued to the government officials said, "There will be no expatriate workers in the government after 2020." He further added, "The complete nationalisation of government jobs is an important objective of the national transformation programme 2020 and the kingdom's Vision 2030."

Theoretically, this translates into the fact that close to 70,000 foreign workers will be asked to exit in the next 3 years and make room for the Saudi workers.  The government, however, owes the job cut to the reduced prices of oil. It believes that the move will reduce the capital outflow, thus creating new openings for some 700,000 Saudi workers. Meanwhile, the government has also planned a Vision 2030 where it plans to expand the private sector.

• middle east
• jobs